Citrus Infused Turkey

 

This recipe was actually given to me by Jecca's husband Arthur, he's an excellent cook.

After your turkey has thawed in the refrigerator, you will need to place it in a brine overnight. The directions on how to brine a turkey can be found here: http://www.slashfood.com/2009/11/11/turkey-brining-101-how-to-brine-that-bird/

I just used the basic brine recipe, because I want most of my flavor to come from the recipe below.

1 - 15 lb Turkey (thawed and brined)

2 tlbs lemon juice

2 tlbs olive oil

2 1/2 tlbs spice rub

3 oranges

3 lemons

1 pkg fresh sage leave

Remove turkey from your brine. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Mix your lemon juice and olive oil together and then rub all sides with it. Rub spice mix onto the turkey. Quarter the lemons and the oranges. Stuff the cavity of the turkey with them, the remainder that won't fit can be placed around the bird. Place your sage leaves on and around the turkey. Cover with foil and then let sit in the fridge for 12 hours. Remove from the fridge (Do NOT remove aluminum foil, it will help keep the bird moist) and place in preheated 350 degree oven. Cook turkey 16 minutes per pound for a total of 4 hours. If you place it in the oven at 7:45 in the morning, it will be ready by 12:15 in the afternoon.

Turkey Spice Rub

(You may want to make this in advance and place it in it's own container and label it, as it will make more than for just one use.)

4 tsp onion salt

1 tsp cardamon

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp sage

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp ground all spice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

I know this is alot of work, but it is very much worth it. This recipe will feed about 15/16 adults. I was able to even pull enough turkey meat off what was left for a nice turkey soup tonite. I hope y'all enjoy it!

Red Pepper Tilapia

This is not a spicy dish. I just wanted to put that out there, so when you taste the dish you don't get mad and feel like I led you on. Although I suppose with a hot little title like that, who could blame you in thinking you were going to get a spicy little number of a recipe. Sorry to break your culinary hearts, but if you want to heat up the recipe, you'll have to do that on your own and in the privacy of your home.

5 fresh Tilapia fillets
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
1 medium sweet white onion
Ground black peppercorns
Sea Salt
1 tbs of olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in non-stick skillet. Slice your onion and bell pepper lengthwise and saute in skillet until tender. Using a grinder, grind peppercorns over the tilapia. Cover both sides. Remove onion and bell pepper from skillet and set aside. Place tilapia in skillet, cover with onion and bell pepper. Let cook for 5-7 minutes. (You will flip the tilapia ONLY once.) Scoot the onions and peppers aside and with a spatula gently flip the fish. The underside should be golden brown and the edges crispy. Cook for another 5-7 minutes. Plate the tilapia and veggies.  Serve with a fresh garden salad and seasoned Basmati rice. Enjoy!